The present invention relates to elongated hinges of the type generally referred to as piano hinges and more particularly to an improved hinge which can be readily attached to either flexible or rigid material by sewing or stapling.
In the cushion, furniture and upholstery manufacturing industry, it is often desired to connect a plurality of cushions together in a hinged relationship or to hinge a cushion to a rigid frame portion of a piece of furniture. This was often accomplished by connecting the two pieces with a section of fabric material which was either a continuation of the fabric from the cushions, or sewn to one of the cushions. The primary difficulty with this method is that the handling of two or more joined cushions while sewing them together is extremely difficult. Additionally, this method does not permit the joined cushions to be separated for cleaning or storage.
As an attempt to solve the aforestated problem, some manufacturers utilized a cloth and metal or cloth and plastic zipper as a hinge member for connecting two cushions with the cloth portions being sewn to each cushion. While this method simplified sewing and permitted detachment of cleaning and storage, the zipper mechanism was found not to be able to withstand repeated folding or excessive strain and would usually fail in a short amount of time.